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CHILDREN RESOURCES
Child Custody -
Types of Custody
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Family Law Information at NOLO.com
Legal Custody
Legal custody of
a child means having the right and the obligation
to make decisions about a child's upbringing. A
parent with legal custody can make decisions about
schooling, religion, and medical care, for
example. In many states, courts regularly award
joint legal custody to both parents, which means
that the decision making is shared.
If you share
joint legal custody with the other parent and you
exclude him or her from the decision-making
process, your ex can take you back to court and
ask the judge to enforce the custody agreement.
You won't get fined or go to jail, but it will
probably be embarrassing and cause more friction
between the two of you -- which may harm the
children. What's more, if you're represented by an
attorney, it's sure to be expensive.
If you think you
have circumstances that make it impossible to
share joint legal custody (the other parent won't
communicate with you about important matters or is
abusive), you can go to court and ask for a change
in custody so that you have sole legal custody.
But in many states, you will have to overcome a
presumption that joint legal custody is
preferable.
Physical Custody
Physical custody
means that a parent has the right to have a child
live with him or her. Some states will award joint
physical custody to both parents, when the child
spends significant amounts of time with both
parents. Where the child lives primarily with one
parent and has visitation with the other,
generally the parent with whom the child primarily
lives will have sole physical custody, with
visitation to the other parent. Joint physical
custody works best if you live near the other
parent, as it lessens the stress on children and
allows them to maintain a somewhat normal routine.
 Sole Custody
One parent can
have either sole legal custody or sole physical
custody of a child. In most states, courts are
moving away from awarding sole custody to one
parent. They often enlarge the role a father plays
in his children's lives. Even where sole physical
custody is awarded, often the parties still share
joint legal custody, and the non-custodial parent
enjoys a generous visitation schedule. In that
situation, the parents would make joint decisions
about the child's upbringing, but one parent would
be deemed the primary physical caretaker, while
the other parent would have visitation rights.
Courts generally
won't hesitate to award sole physical custody to
one parent if the other parent is deemed unfit --
for example, because of alcohol or drug
dependency, a new partner who is unfit, or charges
of child abuse or neglect.
It's
understandable that there may be animosity between
you and your ex-spouse. But it's best not to seek
sole custody unless the other parent causes direct
harm to the children. Even then courts may simply
allow supervised visitation, while still ordering
joint legal custody.
Joint Custody
Parents who don't
live together have joint custody (also called
shared custody) when they share the
decision-making responsibilities for, and/or
physical control and custody of, their children.
Joint custody can exist if the parents are
divorced, separated, or no longer cohabiting, or
even if they never lived together. Joint custody
may be:
- joint legal
custody
- joint physical
custody (where the children spend a significant
portion of time with each parent), or
- joint legal
and physical custody.
It is common for
couples who share physical custody to also share
legal custody, but not necessarily the other way
around.
When parents
share joint custody, usually they work out a
schedule according to their work requirements
and housing arrangements. If the parents cannot
agree on a schedule, the court will impose an
arrangement. A common pattern is for children to
split weeks between each parent's house or
apartment. Other joint physical custody
arrangements include:
- alternating
months, years or six-month periods, or
- spending
weekends and holidays with one parent, while
spending weekdays with the other.
Joint custody has
the advantages of assuring the children continuing
contact and involvement with both parents. And
it alleviates some of the burdens of parenting for
each parent. There are, of course, disadvantages:
- Children must
be shuttled around.
- Parental
noncooperation or ill will can have seriously
negative effects on children.
- Maintaining
two homes for the children can be expensive.
If you do have
this arrangement, you should maintain detailed and
organized financial records of your expenses. Keep
receipts for groceries, school and after school
activities, clothing and medical care. At some
point your ex may claim she or he has spent more
money on the kids than you have, and a judge will
appreciate your detailed records.
Bird's Nest Custody
Bird's nest
custody is a joint custody arrangement where the
children remain in the family home and the parents
take turns moving in and out, spending their out
time in separate housing of their own |
